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My husband and I just got back from visiting my parents. I’d been planning the trip for weeks to time it with spring migration since I wanted to visit Brazos Bend State Park while I was in the area before we leave the country (be on the lookout for THOSE photos at the end of May).

Fun fact: Brazoria county has more species of birds than any other comparable area in North America and is a major migration route for waterfowl and neotropical migrants.

Anyway, to say the least, I was expecting a lot; I’ve never been to BBSP during migration and I’d been planning this trip for weeks! When I arrived at BBSP, I was a little disappointed (especially considering what happened on my last trip). There hadn’t been a good rain in a long while and the water was really low plus I didn’t see near as many species of birds as I was expecting. Despite all that, I was still very pleased with the images I produced.

For those who may be interested in the birding aspect, I saw: American coot, blue-winged teal, pied-billed grebe, common moorhen, white ibis, roseate spoonbill (only in flight), red-winged blackbird, yellow-crowned night heron, black-crowned night heron and little blue heron.

Here are my favorite images from the trip. I took these at the 40-acre lake. For the full series, check out the Aves gallery on my website.

A few weeks ago my brother-in-law and his wife adopted an American bulldog puppy, Sammy. She was previously in a not so great situation where she was kept in a crate pretty much constantly. My brother-in-law and his wife agreed to take the puppy off their hands since the owners clearly had no time for her. Anyway, a week after they got her, my husband and I decided to take Medina, our basset hound, over to meet Sammy! The following pictures are a few of my favorite shots from our visit. To view the entire series, check out the Dogs gallery on my website!

Several weeks ago I was entered into a photography contest put on by the Hill Country Alliance. Only photos taken in the Texas Hill Country can be entered into the competition. The three categories are natural treasures, hill country people and our unique economy. Anyway, I just learned today that one of my photos (seen below) was selected as a finalist! Be sure to check out the winners and finalists from 2009 and 2008.

Yesterday morning my husband and I visited Brazos Bend State Park. I’ve been multiple times in the past but my visit yesterday was the best BY FAR! I’m not sure if it was due to the recent rains or what, but all of the animals were very active and feasting on the bountiful crawfish. The trails were LITTERED with crawfish shells, the birds were fighting each other over them and I even witnessed an alligator feeding frenzy! I was also excited because right off the bat I was able to get a decent shot of an anhinga, something which I’ve never been able to do before (they’ve always been too far away). I also got some great shots of a pied-billed grebe, which I’ve never even seen before.

All in all, I took over 400 pictures but was able to narrow it down considerably. The pictures below are a few of my favorites (click on them to be taken to their respective galleries on my website).

Be sure to scroll to the bottom of this post for an outtake!

American Alligator

American Alligator

Little Blue Heron

Pied-billed Grebe

Yellow-crowned Night Heron

Anhinga

BONUS: My failed attempt to capture an alligator lunging for prey (which still turned out kind of awesome). This is what happens when you take the camera away from your face for a split second!!!

This past weekend I spent three blissful days camping at McKinney Falls State Park in Austin, TX with my husband and dog. I needed the time away to de-stress from my life. After eating and sleeping, all I did was read (I finished two books) and played cards. While I took a lot of my photography gear, I actually didn’t do much shooting. I did capture a few images I’m pleased with, however. I’m pleasantly surprised my waterfall shot turned out as well as it did considering the length of the exposure and the fact that I forgot a tiny piece of equipment that allows me to actually attach my camera to my tripod (doh).

Sunrise at the “Lower Falls”…

My husband, Jacob, and my muddy puppy, Medina, perched on a rock next to the waterfall…

Medina rolling around on some interesting smell. It was funny, we visited this same place the previous evening and Medina was rolling around in virtually the exact same spot…